The Pence Gallery was founded in 1975 by a consortium of artists, University faculty, and community members in Davis, California. The following year, the Pence was incorporated as a nonprofit 501(c)(3) art organization. The original building was the former office of Dr. Joe Pence, a local dentist with a strong interest in the arts. When Joe and his wife Hazel Pence gifted the building and grounds to the City of Davis, this consortium petitioned the City for its use as a gallery. The organization is named in their honor. The original building was replaced by a two-story, three-gallery facility in 2005, designed by San Francisco architects Wayne Barcelon and Darlene Jang. While the Pence is located on City-owned land, the Pence Gallery Association owns the building and is responsible for all expenses for the Gallery.
The Pence serves as a leader in the arts regionally, offering between 15-20 exhibits of contemporary art in all media annually. Located in downtown Davis, we serve over 18,000 visitors with free admission to our high-caliber exhibits, and for many young visitors, this is their first experience inside an art gallery or museum. Exhibits provide opportunities for adults, children, and youth to learn about the power of the arts. Through art workshops, classes, and talks, we provide both Davis residents and visitors from other counties access to learn from established local and regional artists. Our dedicated group of volunteers greet visitors at our front desk, and help support our community outreach, programs, and events, such as our Garden Tour and Art Auction.
The Pence Gallery's mission is to serve the community through displaying high caliber art exhibits, supporting the development of local and regional artists, and providing educational programs to visitors of all ages.
The Pence Gallery coordinates an ambitious exhibit schedule of 20 solo and group exhibits by regional artists annually. To continue to have high-caliber displays, we need support to cover research, marketing, printing, and the installation of each artist's work. We collaborate with artists for up to two years on each exhibit, thus it takes staff time to build great exhibits that serve to expand our audience's knowledge of art and concept of what qualifies as art. Many of the solo exhibits we host are of emerging artists who are new to the art world, and need support to develop a body of work. We are seeking funding to support staff costs such as research, video, marketing, and printing costs for upcoming exhibits by emerging artists.
In addition, we are currently seeking funding for our ArtSmart hands-on school program. ArtSmart is our field trip program at the Pence Gallery; Children in grades Kindergarten to 6th grade participate in a docent tour of a current exhibit and discuss their interpretation of artwork. Afterward, they create an art project related to what they've seen on display. This increased funding would add to our ability to pay our art teacher to develop curriculum and research other projects in conjunction with upcoming exhibits. We also need funding to be able to offer scholarships to schools in need, as many schools have asked for support to participate in ArtSmart. (We currently charge $9-12/per student to attend, and barely break even on the program). We could also develop this as an outreach program to the schools, including staffing, materials, and a travel stipend. Our request for sponsoring the ArtSmart school program for one year is $6,000. This program serves from 600-1,000 students, teachers, and parents annually.
The Pence Gallery is interested in finding potential volunteer Board Members who are interested in the arts and have time to actively volunteer to assist staff to support the organization through fundraising, event management, and general administration. We are looking to diversify our Board in terms of race, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and geographic residence.
PENCE GALLERY
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Commitment Statement
At the Pence, we think that art can bring us together, to listen to and learn from one another. The Pence strongly believes that art is for everyone, regardless of class, race, ethnicity, gender, national origin, sexual orientation, physical abilities, or faith. Reflecting our Mission Statement, we affirm that our goal is to serve the community by offering exhibits and programs that reflect and enrich the lives of people of diverse backgrounds. We acknowledge that the voices of many people of different racial and ethnic backgrounds have been ignored, attacked, or silenced. The very real work of addressing this systemic, interpersonal, and intrapersonal racism is part of our continuing efforts to act with honesty, inclusiveness, and humility in our interactions with artists, each other, and the greater public. Art possesses the unique ability to express and redress aspects of this racial inequity, and its power and beauty lies in communicating across lines that normally divide us.
The Pence is committed to being an anti-racist organization, and we welcome all people and communities who have felt marginalized in the art world to collaborate with us on this ongoing journey. In both our words and our actions, we strive to be a place where diversity, equity, and inclusion is respected and fostered. In addition to being an admission-free gallery, the Pence is working to ensure that everyone in our region has the opportunity to participate in the arts, express themselves, and share their work with the larger community. We aspire to be an inclusive, culturally rich, and essential community-based organization.
Organization name
Pence Gallery
1975
Tax id (EIN)
51-0164563
Mission Category
Arts, Culture & Humanities
Operating Budget
$500,001-$1 million
Organization Need
Funding: Program, Board Members, Technology
Demographics Served
Youth & Children, Low-income individuals/families, General population
Local Counties Served
Yolo
Equity Statement
Equity Statement
Address
212 D StreetYolo, CA, US
Solano, CA, US
Napa, CA, US
Sacramento, CA, US